> “The scriptures are secondary to teachings of Christ that were passed on via his Apostles.”
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The written Gospels are the complete teachings that Christ gave the apostles.
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> “Christ picked 12 Apostles. They and their successors made up the early Church.”
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The only “successor” apostle was Paul, whom Christ himself chose. there is not a single word about successor apostles, only Pastors, and elders.
The scriptures are all that we were given and all that is added to them is of the adversary
Maybe according to Bishop Editor-Surveyor, but he's outside the Church that chose those written gospels, so his opinion really doesn't matter.
It's just ridiculous to think all Christ's teachings are in the Gospels. If that were the case, why recruit 12 guys to help spread the instructions? Why not just hire a few scribes and tell 'em to start churning out the pamphlets for the good people to read? Why waste all that time explaining things to the Apostles? He should have just told the Apostles to just keep writing. All they need to know will be in the pamphlets. But that's not what he did, did he? No. Christ did not hire a scribe while he sat home dictating. The entire nature of his ministry is completely counter the notion there's a complete set of instructions that any idiot can decipher.
Christ's ministry was a hands on ministry in which nuance is essential. The written word fails miserably when it comes to describing the nuances of LOVE, and that's exactly what God and Christ is. To put that much faith in a BOOK is, to me, just plain stupid.
The fact that REAL Christianity is so much more than following the instructions in a magic perfect book is what makes Christianity such a beautiful religion. It's like comparing a book about how a mother should love a child to the actual experience of a mother's actual unconditional love. There's no way a book can capture that beauty, no matter how well it may be written. You can't teach what is beyond words by simply using words.